The present invention relates in general to a flexible circuit board and in particular to a flexible circuit board connected to an LCD module, preventing open circuits and trace damage.
Conventional flat panel modules, such as LCD modules, are generally connected to external circuits through flexible circuit boards. As shown in FIG. 1a, the flexible circuit board 1 comprises first, second and third conductive portions 11, 12 and 13 for signal transmission, wherein the first and second conductive portions 11 and 12 are disposed on the opposite borders of the flexible circuit board 1. The first conductive portion 11 comprises a plurality of contact pads 110 electrically connected to external circuits (not shown), and correspondingly, the second conductive portion 12 comprises a plurality of contact pads 120 electrically connected to an LCD module M.
Specifically, a U-shaped slot 10 is defined on the flexible circuit board 1 forming a flexible portion 130. Referring to FIGS. 1a and 1b, the third conductive portion 13 is disposed on the flexible portion 130 and electrically connected to the LCD module M as the flexible portion 130 is flexed upward. As shown in FIG. 2, the flexible circuit board 1 comprises a conductive trace T routed as a U-turn detouring the slot 10 from the contact pads 110 of the first conductive portions 11 to the third conductive portion 13 for signal transmission. The flexible circuit board 1, however, can be easily torn at both ends of the U-shaped slot 10 as indicated by the dashed lines in FIG. 2 as the flexible portion 130 is flexed.